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4.5

Forget New York: Glasgow’s five-star answer to the Manhattan skyscraper is a classic.

The tallest hotel in Glasgow has lost none of its charm. One of the original international hotel chains to buy into Glasgow’s style change in the early 1990s, the 319-room hotel has undergone numerous cosmetic makeovers to keep it in trim shape. On the ground floor, Cameron’s restaurant has been upgraded into a modern Scottish grill restaurant, a lustful Champagne bar has appeared and the executive business suite has been relocated from its former lofty residence. It boasts the city’s best rooms with a view – especially when Glasgow lights up at night like a more inebriated, horizontal Las Vegas. Inside, I love the gigantic candelabra chandelier which dangles above the marble-floored foyer like a vintage Victorian disco-ball. Random fact: in years gone by, the building used to be one of the city’s premier charity abseiling venues.

Location

4.2

90%

Eating/drinking

4.6

90%

Leisure facilities

4.2

90%

Service

4.2

90%

Value for money

4.1

90%

Bedrooms

4.6

90%

Public areas

4.1

90%

Location

Even though it overlooks the M8 motorway, the Kingston Bridge and Charing Cross interchange – in effect the busiest road junction in the whole of Scotland – the Hilton offers a welcome respite from the traffic on its doorstep. Triple-glazed windows ensure a quiet night sleep is guaranteed. Charing Cross station is seconds away and the entire city centre and financial district is a five-minute walk down either Argyll or Bothwell Streets.

Bedrooms

"Room with a view" clichés abound: make sure you get a room on the upper floors for the best cityscape panorama bar none. Four rooms even have balconies for vertigo-inducing vistas. Inside, the rooms are lit up with lime green curtains and cushions, leather armchairs, mp3 players and flat-screen digital TVs. In homage to its city roots, however, the rooms are decorated with monochrome prints of famous Glasgow architecture. Floors nine, 10 and 11 have recently undergone refurbishment and the executive rooms – an extra supplement – are on the 18th, 19th and 20th floors. Crabtree and Evelyn toiletries are standard. Apparently, regular guests were consulted on the colour choice before the renovation. Now that’s a personal touch.

Public areas

An ivory-tinkling jazz pianist takes up a residency on weekend evenings. WiFi is available in public areas but is chargeable.

Eating and drinking

Minsky’s New York Delhi serves buffets breakfasts, lunches and dinners in a faux NYC brasserie – striking a balance somewhere between a TGI Friday’s and a Goodfellas’ Italian pasta joint. Cameron’s steaks and scallops Scottish-themed eaterie squeezes its business clientele between Roman pillars and high-back leather seats. The Executive lounge also serves Continental breakfast, canapés and complimentary alcoholic drinks every evening.

Leisure facilities

There is a guest and members gym on the lower ground floor, which also houses a 15-metre swimming pool and Ocean Room Spa treatment room. In the foyer the hotel has a Jade florist, nail bar and hair salon, and a gift shop.

Service

Five-star service all the way - if a little impersonal.

Who stays there

Business travellers and jet-setting executives fly in and out from Monday to Friday.